New statistics on disabled workers

By
Ed O'Keefe

As the Obama administration pledges to hire more people with disabilities, some new numbers suggest the percentage of disabled American workers employed in the public sector is on par with the percentage of workers who are not disabled.

The federal government employs 2.9 percent of disabled workers, compared to 2.6 percent of all workers without disabilities.

Those numbers are encouraging -- until you consider this: Just 19.2 percent of all disabled Americans have jobs, compared to 64.5 percent of all American people without disabilities. Those figures hold across all age groups. And nearly one-third of workers with a disability are employed part time, BLS said. One-fifth of workers without disabilities are part time workers.

This week's report is the first time the government has compiled and released statistics on the employment status of disabled people. BLS obtained its information from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, which compiles employment information on a monthly basis from about 60,000 households.

The new information comes as the Obama administration is making a hard effort to hire more disabled people, as noted by Federal News Radio's Jason Miller. President Obama signed an executive order last month ordering the government to hire more disabled people, and the Office of Management and Budget will provide tips to agencies on how to do so by November. The Labor Department also may force government contractors to set similar goals for hiring disabled workers.

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DEFENSE DEPARTMENT:
• Pentagon to seek modest budget growth: It wants an increase of 1 percent over inflation in the White House's next budget request.

• Generals wary of move to cut their ranks: The salary cap for generals is about $180,000, up from $130,000 a decade ago.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS:
• W.H.: Stimulus story omits 'full facts': In ongoing battle with the AP, the White House says the wire service left out “the full facts” in an examination of stimulus claims.

FCC:
• FCC appeals 'fleeting expletives' decision: The agency asked a federal appeals court Thursday to reconsider its recent decision to toss the government's restrictions on indecent speech on TV and radio broadcasts.

FDA:
• Salmonella tied to chicken feed in egg recall: But it doesn't mean that the feed is the source of the salmonella outbreak, the agency said.

• Food-safety experts: Finding an outbreak's source not easy: In 2008, the tomato industry took a major financial hit when the FDA and CDC linked their crop to a salmonella outbreak. Later, tests instead found the outbreak bacteria in hot peppers, prompting an angry industry backlash.

FEMA:
• Huge losses put federal flood insurance plan in the red: Along with the huge losses from Hurricane Katrina, the generous benefits have forced the program to seek an unprecedented $19 billion taxpayer bailout.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING:
• Agencies are getting too attached to incumbent contractors, watchdog finds: A new report reviewed noncompetitive contracts during the past several years and discovered a number of questionable business practices by contracting officials and program managers.

GOVERNMENT WORK/LIFE/OPERATIONS:
• Agencies employ 2.9 percent of people with disabilities: They employ 3.2 percent of all men with disabilities, and 2.7 percent of all women who are considered disabled.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT:
• FBI, ATF squabbles are hurting bombing inquiries: A new memo designates the FBI as the lead investigator for explosives cases linked to terrorism, while ATF will control all other bombing inquiries.

• Administration halts prosecution of alleged USS Cole bomber: The decision at least temporarily scuttles what was supposed to be the signature trial of a major al-Qaeda figure under a reformed system of military commissions.

NASA:
• NASA's Kepler spacecraft discovers planetary system with 'transiting' planets: The discovery came from observing some 156,000 stars for seven months as part of a pioneering search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system.

U.S. POSTAL SERVICE:
• USPS tries for more service with fewer offices: About 27,000 post offices and 4,800 stations and branches are under consideration for closure under a new initiative.

Can you please tell me where the line is drawn, in these studies, between disabled and non-disabled? For example, would someone with-- say-- rheumatoid arthritis that is in remission be considered disabled or non-disabled for the purposes of these employment studies?

Are you aware of any administration plans to help agencies fund or streamline procurement of other types of accommodation [i.e. assistive technology, facility improvement] that may be needed for newly-hired disabled employees?